The Downfall of Miss Baltimore Crabs
by Eva Loves You
Summary: For those of you who don't know this already, Velma gets arrested in the alternate ending of Hairspray. This is about what happends to her after she gets released from prison. No pairings yet but maybe VelmaCorny. Please read and review


Velma didn't think she would ever sink so low. Now, she knew what it was like to be at the bottom. She could hear cars passing down the street and the heater in her room never got cold. Never in a million years did she think she would be staying in a run down boarding house in a bad part of town by herself. What did she do to deserve this? Was trying to do something nice for your own daughter really so bad? It was six months ago when she was caught on camera confessing how she tried to rig the Miss Teenage Hairspray pageant, and three months since she was released from prison. If her trail was earlier or if she would have pleaded guilty she would have been out sooner but she wanted to fight it even though as her attorney said she didn't really have a case. The sad thing she realized when she got arrested was that she had no real friends. No one offered to bail her out and she knew a long time ago, although everyone else didn't, that the money she inherited from her husband's death was long gone.

She had to stay in prison with all of those hookers and thieves. She was depressed and cried everyday. The women in prison instantly hated her. They harassed her and called her names. Now, she knew what it was like to be an outsider. She now knew how Tracy and other people she discriminated against felt. At least Tracy had friends and family that loved her, though. Velma Von Tussle never thought in a million years that she would be alone. During her stay in prison the only visitor she got besides her attorney was from her mother in law, who had taken Amber in after her arrest. "Velma, I've been talking to my lawyer and they thought it would be best if I took full custody of Amber. Even if you get out of here it'll be hard to prove yourself to be a fit parent." She explained to her.

"But you can't do that! Amber is all I have. I need her and she needs me!" she cried. She couldn't let her take Amber away from her! When she got out of prison, he had made plans to take Amber and move to Europe.

"Amber doesn't need you Velma. She can't even stand you anymore after what you did. She wants to stay with me." Velma thought she was lying because she didn't like her anyway. She always thought Velma was a gold digger who married her son for his money and while that was true, it still didn't give her the right to take her daughter away or try to turn Amber against her. Velma tried to call Amber to ask her about it but she would never come to the phone. She wrote her many letters that always got returned. She had been in prison for a month and she hadn't heard from or seen Amber since. It wasn't until she had gotten a heartbreaking letter from Amber that she gave up:

_Dear Mother,_

_I know you've been trying to contact me and I just wanted to tell you to stop._

_You have ruined my life here. No one will talk to me and people in town_

_Are always whispering when I come around. I have left the_

_Corny Collins show because I was getting tons of hate mail because of _

_What you did. I know I'm somewhat responsible but you made me this_

_Way, mother and I hate you for it. I want to live with Grandmother forever._

_We are leaving Baltimore soon to go to Atlanta so I can start over again where_

_No one knows me or about what happened. Please don't bother responding to this letter_

_Just let me live my life and you live yours. Thanks for trying to be my mother._

_Have a good life_

_Love Amber_

Velma cried for days after she read Amber's letter. She read it over and over again, and still had it tucked away in her nightstand drawer. She wished she could go to Atlanta to try to find her daughter so she could make it up to her but she had no money plus she was on probation and couldn't leave Baltimore until it was over which will be about a year from now. She didn't even know Amber's phone number. She kept a picture of her daughter from when she won Miss Teenage Hairspray the year before. Amber was so happy back then. She acted like she knew she would win but it was always a happy moment for her when Corny announced her as the winner. Velma was always proud of Amber and always told her that but now she may never see her again. She had nothing now but a tiny room in a boarding house.

The place was a hole in the wall. The wallpaper was peeling, she often saw bugs crawling around and she had to use a community shower with six other rooms. Velma didn't even want to take her shoes off in the room since the carpet was so dirty. Before now she would never even step foot in a place like this but now it was all she could afford on her salary as a housekeeper. It was a dirty job and she was sure some people would gloat if they saw her cleaning toilets and mopping floors or even living like she did now. Thankfully, she hadn't seen anyone yet or at least they hadn't seen her. She often found herself quickly ducking away from people she used to know. Just yesterday she saw Motormouth Maybelle and Lil Inez in town. She had quickly ran and hid in the alley to avoid them. She didn't think Maybelle was the type to kick someone when they were down but she was different. Velma always belittled her and her family and maybe Maybelle would have basked at the opportunity to laugh at her dressed in a maid's outfit with no make up unless you counted the dirt stains on her face from cleaning all day.

Velma was down and out, and she was surprised no one had written a newspaper article about her downfall. There was one about her trail and release from prison but that was it. Everyone had to know she was still in town since she was on probation. She hadn't even begun her community service yet out of fear of being seen. She hardly went out unless she had to. Most of the time when she wasn't working she stayed in her tiny room.

She showered and changed out of her uniform that day and put on one of the dresses her rich employer had given her. She didn't want to take any handouts but they insisted and she had no clothes left after leaving prison. She had no idea where they all went, since their house was foreclosed and everything in it was now gone. She hoped Amber kept some of their memoirs, at least. She put the bandana on her hair that she now grew accustom to wearing. She thought she was less recognizable in it. She rode the bus to the grocery store to find something to eat for the night. Sometimes her employer offered her something to eat before she left but they were going out to dinner tonight. She couldn't cook anything at the boarding house since there was no kitchen but she hoped to get something from the deli. Her mouth watered just looking at all the fresh sandwiches, chicken, and biscuits. It was all too expensive for her, though. If she splurged and got some of the chicken and biscuits she would have hardly anything left for the rest of the week and she didn't get paid until Friday.

"Did you want something, miss?" The guy over the counter asked her when he saw her staring at the display window. She shook her heard and walked away. She went to the produce section and saw some of the shiny red apples that she had been eating a lot of for the past few weeks. She learned a long time ago that fruit was the cheapest thing in the super market that didn't need to be cooked and she refused to eat out of a can so she never got canned goods. She looked around for a minute and then proceeded to put some of the apples in her purse. She then went to the diary section and put a pint of milk in her bag as well. She had done it so often she never felt guilty about it anymore. She walked towards the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hold it right there miss." She heard a stern voice say. She turned around and saw the store manager looking at her.

"You need to come with me," he said. Velma started to cry. She was about to go back to prison and that was much worse then where she was now! "Miss, I know you've been shoplifting. Now you can make this easy or hard." He told her. Velma held her head down in defeat and started to go with him. She was walk with her head down with him towards the store's security office when she suddenly bumped into someone and hit the floor. She looked up and saw Corny Collins staring at her.


End file.
